End qatar blockade

T he American owners of Boots may revive plans for stock market float next year after scrapping the sale of Britain’s biggest chemist to a Wall Street buyout fund and Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Walgreens, which merged with Boots in 2014 in a deal worth £9bn, said none of the offers for the “adequately reflects the high potential value of Boots and No7 Beauty Company”. The Illinois-headquartered company said bidders had struggled to arrange bank loans to buy Boots after financial markets “suffered unexpected and dramatic change”. Private equity fund Apollo and Mr Ambani had been in pole position to acquire Boots after Walgreens chairman Stefano Pessina put the business up for sale in January. But a £5bn approach — considerably lower than the £7bn Mr Pessina is said to have wanted — fell through. Ornella Barra, Boots operating chief, wrote to the company’s 56,000 staff saying she was “happy to confirm that it has been decided that Boots and No7 Beauty Company will … [Read more...] about Boots stock market float back on the table as £5bn sale collapses

PM facing Cabinet backlash over Pincher sex pest allegations PM knew about Pincher allegations before appointment, No 10 admits Tory rebels plot another vote to oust Johnson this month Diane Abbott claims Boris is ‘rumoured to like assaulting women’ Ukraine war: Zelensky vows to retake lost Lysychansk J eremy Hunt would lose a Tory leadership contest against all other potential candidates, a poll of Conservative members has found. Research by ConservativeHome, published on Monday, found that if the former health secretary made the last two of any other leadership vote, he would lose to all other potential contenders. It came as he refused again to rule out another tilt at becoming Prime Minister. The candidate that Mr Hunt comes closest to was Steve Baker, receiving only 27 per cent of votes - while the former Brexit minister received almost double that, with 48 per cent. Mr Hunt's biggest threats, according to the poll, were Ben Wallace, the … [Read more...] about As it happened: Jeremy Hunt would lose Tory leadership contest to every major contender, poll finds

Fuel protesters have brought gridlock to motorways and major A-routes across the UK with a series of rolling go-slow roadblocks. Dozens of campaigners who are calling for a cut in fuel duty targeted the M4 in South Wales and Somerset, and stretches of the M5 from Devon to Bristol , on Monday. There were also protests on the A38 in Devon and at a Tesco petrol station in Shepton Mallet. Further afield, there were demonstrations on the M54 in Shropshire, near the Ferrybridge services in West Yorkshire, on the A64 in the York area, on the M180 near Scunthorpe, and on the A12 in Essex. In a series of 30mph rolling roadblocks, the protesters were able to bring disruption to road networks during the morning rush-hour. Recommended Over £130m handed to housing providers named and shamed by regulator The protests, which started at around 7am, are understood to have been organised via social media under the banner Fuel Price Stand Against Tax. They … [Read more...] about Rolling go-slow fuel protests bring gridlock to UK motorways

MANCHESTER CITY goalkeeper Zack Steffen is leaving Manchester City to join Middlesbrough on a season-long loan. The 27-year-old has played backup to Brazilian Ederson for the past two seasons under Pep Guardiola. His appearances have largely been restricted to the cups, with only two coming in the Premier League. Steffen is currently No.1 for the USA national team and he is keen for more regular action with the World Cup fast-approaching in November. He knows he faces stiff competition at international level from Arsenal new-boy Matt Turner. Therefore he has agreed to drop down to the Championship to join Chris Wilder’s ambitious Boro . READ MORE GET YOUR GOSS Man City to announce Phillips TODAY, Salah's Chelsea deal EXCLUSIVE WINNER WINNER Win a Mercedes C63s AMG or £37k cash alternative from just 89p City have lined-up German keeper Stefan Ortega as a replacement. The Armenia Bielefeld star is … [Read more...] about Man City star Zack Steffen set to join Middlesbrough on season-long loan deal with US keeper wanting first-team action

If you currently work in the travel industry, it probably pays to have a sense of humour. Take the chief executive of Heathrow who clearly still has time for a good joke. In typically brazen fashion, John Holland Kaye has warned that a ruling forcing the airport to cut its charges will leave holidaymakers facing “a worse experience”. Sorry, “worse”? How often does he actually set foot inside Heathrow? Sadly, Holland-Kaye is being serious but try telling those poor passengers whose children were forced to sleep on the floor last week after the cancellation of 15,000 flights that things could have been worse. Or the people whose luggage ended up in a sea of suitcases strewn across the airport floor and had to wait days to get their precious belongings back. Or how about those who were told to find hotels in the middle of the night after they’d been left stranded amid the chaos. Still, one thing is funny: Holland-Kaye’s increasingly pathetic attempts to get passengers to … [Read more...] about Heathrow risks killing off the golden age of air travel

Drivers are facing more chaos during this morning’s rush hour as campaigners blocked motorways in a protest over soaring fuel prices . Protesters created a rolling blockade along the M4, heading towards the Prince of Wales bridge. Similar demonstrations have also been reported in Yorkshire and Shropshire. Among the roads that have been disrupted since 7am are: the M4 and Prince of Wales Bridge the M5 in Devon the M32 the A38 the M180 in Lincolnshire the A12 in Essex the M62 in Yorkshire the A92 in Scotland Police warned of “serious disruption throughout the day”, with motorists urged to stay at home where possible. Why are the protests happening? The action comes amid growing discontent about the surging cost of petrol and diesel on petrol station forecourts, which has been driven higher by Russia’s war in Ukraine. But motoring groups have complained that pump prices have remained high even after wholesale costs began to fall back. The … [Read more...] about Go-slow fuel protesters block motorways across Britain bringing rush hour chaos

Evening briefing: Today's essential headlines Go-slow protests | Drivers faced more chaos during this morning's rush hour as campaigners blocked motorways in a protest over soaring fuel prices. Protesters created a rolling blockade along the M4, while similar demonstrations were also reported in Yorkshire and Shropshire. Watch traffic being brought to a crawl and see a map of the areas hit. Gas explosion | 'Inferno' in Bedford block of flats sparks roof collapse Tim Westwood | BBC admits it received sexual misconduct complaint New laws | Nadine Dorries 'will have power to censor the internet' Teenager's 'false bomb threat' | EasyJet flight intercepted by fighters Sour moment | Milk does not make cereal healthier, High Court rules Why Russian generals will not celebrate Luhansk's fall Russian forces have been ordered to push deeper into eastern Ukraine , as local officials warned civilians to flee the front-line after the capture of … [Read more...] about Monday evening UK news briefing: Putin’s orders to Russian forces after seizing Luhansk

1. Ukraine says Snake Island 'military operation' completed The Ukrainian flag has been raised again on Snake Island in the Black Sea, Ukraine's military said on Monday, after Russian forces withdrew from the strategic outpost last week. "The military operation has been concluded, and ... the territory (Snake Island) has been returned to the jurisdiction of Ukraine," Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine's southern military command, told a news conference. Some analysts have said Russia's withdrawal from Snake Island off Ukraine's southwestern coast could loosen its blockade on Ukrainian ports. But a Kyiv-based foreign diplomat told Reuters it was still not enough to allow for safe transit of Ukrainian grain. "There is a requirement for demining, and Russia still has capabilities (military vessels, costal defence systems and air superiority) that will allow them to interdict shipping lanes," the diplomat said. 2. Putin declares victory in Luhansk after … [Read more...] about Ukraine war: Six key developments to know about on Monday